No matter what we do in life, having our students follow in our footsteps is a sweet reward.

One of the important missions carried out at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital is the education of the next generation of innovative, high-quality and safe medical and surgical practitioners. Indeed, the university has some of the leading training programs in the country in many fields.

At a recent medical meeting, I spoke with the chairman of neurosurgery at the University of Minnesota about one of his faculty members, Dr. Matt Hunt, who trained in our residency program here at OHSU and OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. During this conversation I learned that Matt has just received an important promotion: to be the director of residency training at the University of Minnesota.

As a neurosurgery resident here at OHSU and OHSU Doernbecher, Matt was intensively involved in mentorship, leadership and education. He served as chief resident in our department, was an elected representative to the Office of Graduate Medical Education, and won national recognition for his work on education related topics.

OHSU Doernbecher has become a recognized center for educational excellence, safety and innovation, working to make sure that there are always highly trained neurosurgeons to care for Oregonians and our children, as well as countless other patients around the United States.

When I heard about Matt’s ongoing educational accomplishments and promotion, I realized that any educational program worth its salt should also be training the next generation of inspired educators. Matt’s success is ours as well, and we celebrate it with him!